Greedo - TBS [P1] - Six Inch Figures (#07)

Name: GreedoCollection: The Black SeriesNumber: #07Scale: 6"Source: A New HopeAvailability: November 2013License: Hasbro

The bounty hunter Greedo attempts to capture Han Solo in the Mos Eisley cantina and meets with an unfortunate end.

"I've been looking forward to this for a long time."

The Black Series 6” action figure line is really starting to engage many more collectors than anticipated. With so many collectors adverse to tackling a new scale after almost 20 years in the modern Hasbro line, it appears that Hasbro is making them so interesting that it’s difficult to not have your curiosity piqued, even if you staunchly oppose them. The first wave of figures exceeded our expectations. There are definitely issues with the figures, but we attribute that to the new learning curve Hasbro has to endure until they can perfect the technique and fully wow us with the final results. With any line, certain characters are going to look more impressive than others, but it goes without saying that so far, that consistency is strong in The Black Series 6” line and we eagerly await all the announcements of the plans Hasbro has for the line. Thankfully, longtime collectors are the ones who are reaping the benefits of the line. So far Hasbro has remained Original Trilogy centric and many of the core characters have been released or have been revealed for the future. The second wave introduces one of the few cantina aliens to have a speaking part. Greedo has been produced and overall it is a very impressive action figure. It has one big issue for us, but you’ll have to wait on that one until we tell you all that’s right with it first. We can tell that the figure summarily delivers. You may be able to forgive its one glaring error, or maybe not. But even if you cannot, we hope that you’ll be able to appreciate the “right” Hasbro did do to this figure. After all, Greedo is always an exciting release no matter how you slice it.

Right off of the bat you’ll notice that Greedo’s coloring is flawless. Dark onscreen skin is met with, and for the first time, correctly colored purple eyes. The outfit is amazing. A teal colored fitted jumpsuit has the appropriately colored yellow ribbed siding. And lastly Hasbro designed a perfect orange outer vest to tie everything together. Even his shoes are correctly painted gray. A final (and subtle) wash graces the final figure and adds realism and depth to the action figure. Everything you would expect is here and we give the deco the highest rating possible. We don’t think Hasbro could have painted Greedo better. We’re not exaggerating. The sculpt is phenomenal. Greedo is accurately proportioned to the onscreen character. He has an athletic frame and can pass for either the male or female actors who played him in Star Wars Episode IV: A New Hope. He comes with a wonderful 21 points of articulation. Aside from the standard 14 points of articulation from the 3.75” line, Greedo also comes with a ball-jointed neck, swivel thighs, double hinge-jointed knees and rocker ankles. This system gives Greedo a whirlwind of movement and allows you to interact with him in ways you never could in the 3.75” line. You can pretty much set him in any pose you wish. We made him stand on one foot, we made him do a handstand and we posed him in a manner that seemed like gravity would work against him, yet cannot. We think this ability is sublime and a testament to the amazing sculpting Hasbro did for him. For accessories, Hasbro gave him a removable vest, a removable holster and a blaster pistol. The accessories are just as nice as the action figure. We’re quite impressed with how everything turned out as you can see.

So. What’s the issue with Greedo? Well. It’s the head sculpt. And it’s not really the head sculpt either. It’s the eyes. Greedo’s eyes are NOT oblong or oval. We own the Sideshow Collectibles Greedo Life Size Bust and can tell you that his eyes are perfectly circular and spherical. We don’t know what went wrong here. It’s tragic, because Greedo would have been wholly flawless despite this. If you look at any reference still of Greedo, go ahead and Google it, it will not mirror what Hasbro has done to the head sculpt on The Black Series 6” Greedo action figure. Does this make the figure fail? Not at all. But we can tell you that it is slightly bothersome. The head sculpt is actually excellent, save for the eyes. The shape and profile of it is perfect. So we’re not sure what went south with the eyes. A figure’s portrait is the most important factor of what makes an action figure incredible. But in Greedo’s case, it’s the body sculpt that is the shining star instead. When you glance at this figure you’ll think it’s perfect. That is a good sign. But it’s only when you analyze it carefully that you’ll see the one glaring annoyance that should have been caught before the final figure went into production. Greedo was mercilessly teased over four weeks by Entertainment Earth and as soon as we saw the sculpt we knew the eyes were not correct. Others made a stink about this too, yet it wasn’t changed. What’s especially odd is that during the reveal is that Hasbro pointed out that Greedo had “oblong eyes” with the reference materials proving otherwise right next to their design notes. We wonder if a revision will be put in the works. But if not, this isn’t the worst mistake Hasbro has made. It’s just a perplexing one.